peHUB-Exclusive: Dallas-based Brazos Private Equity to wind down

* Vintage 2008 fund was $715 mln

* About 20 percent of capital left to deploy

* Partners may start new ventures

By Chris Witkowsky

NEW YORK, March 26 (peHUB) - Brazos Private Equity Partners,
a Dallas buyout shop, will not be raising a new fund and will
manage out the existing portfolio and wind down, according to
Michael Salim, partner and general counsel.

A limited partner told peHUB that the team was "splitting"
and raising separate funds. Salim wouldn't go into detail but
said some partners are in talks to start up their own ventures
or join new firms. At least one partner will launch a new,
separate fund this year, but will split time between Brazos
Private Equity and the new venture, he said.

That said, Salim said right now the priority is finishing
the deployment of Fund III, the investment period of which ends
in July.

A 2008 vintage pool of $715 million, Fund III has about 20
percent of its capital left to deploy, Salim said. Brazos
Private Equity will focus on making platform and add-on
investments with the remaining capital, he said.

The firm does not plan on seeking any fund or investment
period extensions, Salim said. He said management fees won't
change and will be necessary to pay the team to deploy Fund III
and manage out the firm's existing investments.

"Brazos has a long runway ahead of it. We have a portfolio
to mine and harvest value. We'll be together operating Brazos to
the conclusion of portfolio company investment horizon(s)," he
said. "In time, partners may choose to extend their careers in
different directions."

It is not clear why Brazos Private Equity has decided to
wind down. The partners-Randall Fojtasek, Jeff Fronterhouse,
Patrick McGee and Salim-still have an amicable relationship,
Salim said. The team page of the Brazos Private Equity website
lists 15 people altogether.

"It's natural as you get to the end of a deployment period,
the partners ask themselves, 'Are we up for a new fundraising
together?' People are in different places in terms of their
families, their business careers, and they want different
things," Salim said.

"We remain good friends, and we've told ourselves that we
want our process as we wind up the Brazos deployment cycle to be
a model for how people do this," he said.

The firm has raised three funds since its inception: Along
with the 2008 Fund III, Fund I is a 2000 vintage vehicle that
raised $250 million; Fund II is a $400 million, 2005 vintage
vehicle. Salim declined to comment on their performance.

Fund III was generating an 11.6 percent net IRR and a 1.3x
investment multiple as of June 30, 2013 for backer California
Public Employees' Retirement System.

The predecessor appears to have been in the red as of a year
ago. The total value of New York State Common Retirement Fund's
investment in Fund II was $39.0 million as of March 31, 2013,
according to the pension fund. Dividing that by the amount
contributed by the New York pension fund-$46.5 million-suggests
an investment multiple of around 0.8x. The New York pension fund
has done far better in the debut fund, realizing an investment
multiple of 1.8x on its $39.4 million investment as of the same
date.

The firm has not had a ton of high level turnover. Patrick
O'Hara, who was managing director of investor relations, left
the firm last year after only two years in the role. O'Hara
joined the Credit Suisse Customized Fund Investment Group (now
owned by Grosvenor Capital Management). And Russell Beard, a
managing director, left the firm in 2012 after eight years.